About Government Refinance and Home Purchase Programs

Interest rates on government-backed mortgages are still near the recent historic lows. However they have been slowly inching higher for a few weeks now. The trend continued this last week with average rates moving slightly higher. If you have considered looking into a refinance the time to investigate is now before the record low interest rates go away for good. Contact us in the sidebar to learn which programs apply to you.

Interest rates on conventional and government-backed mortgages were slightly up last week over earlier in November but they have held steady since then. Rates on 30 year fixed, 15 year fixed, and even ARM’s are still hovering near their 50 year lows but signs are pointing to them rising pretty dramatically in the not too distant future. To learn what programs might work for your family just fill in the contact form in the sidebar while rates are still scraping along near the bottom.

After dipping to the lowest rates in more than 50 years, interest rates on government backed and conventional mortgages bounced higher this week after the Fed announced details of its latest quantitative easing plan. We get this from a WSJ blog report:

mortgage rates jumped to 4.46% for an average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, up from 4.28% in the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Wednesday…

The MBA attributed the increase in rates to stronger economic data and “lingering uncertainty regarding the structure and impact” of the Federal Reserve’s new round of debt purchases

Even after the recent shift, interest rates are still near historic lows. If you have considered refinancing we recommend you fill in the “contact us” form in the sidebar right away before rates get significantly higher.

If you have been considering a refinance to take advantage of the lowest mortgage interest rates in 50 years there is now another reason to contact us sooner rather than later. Analysts are predicting home values across the US will slide even further in the next year. This means that homeowners with not much equity now may find themselves underwater (owing more than the home is valued) this time next year. Here are some excerpts from a recent article on the topic over at HousingWire:

Standard & Poor’s analysts believe home prices will drop between 7% and 10% through 2011, erasing any improvements prices have recently made.

Home sales, which plummeted after the homebuyer tax credit expired in April have continued to lag. Pending home sales, which preclude existing home sale data, dipped 1.8% in September before the market goes into a winter many expect to be bleaker than usual. With this lack of demand, inventories should grow, according to S&P, while prices drop.

“Low mortgage rates will likely continue to encourage refinancing, but their influence on home buying activities has been limited due to the weak housing market and a lack of demand,” S&P credit analyst Erkan Erturk said.

After holding steady for a couple of weeks reports are coming in that mortgage interest rates have recently dipped again. We get this from a recent HousingWire report:

The 30-year, fixed-mortgage rate decreased after a stable two weeks, to new record low at 4.07%, according to the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace weekly update.

Zillow said the current 15-year, fixed average rate is 3.51% and the rate for a 5-1 adjustable rate mortgage is 2.91%. That type of mortgage maintains a steady rate for five years and then is adjusted annually thereafter.

Fill in the contact form in the sidebar to learn which programs you can participate in.

Sooner or later mortgage interest rates will shoot higher. But the good news for borrowers is they didn’t move significantly higher this week. If you have been considering looking into a refinance contact us in the sidebar. Rates on government backed mortgages are still the lowest they have been in more than 50 years.